Paul is rather lazy. He does not like to flatter other people, since he sees himself as superior to others, thinking he possesses greater refinement and culture. In contrast to another young man in the story, the young man who marries a serious woman to discipline his appetites, Paul has no desire to do so. "It was at the Theatre and at Carnegie Hall that Paul really lived; the rest was but a sleep and a forgetting." (paragraph 29) --The last part of this quotation (in italics) is a sneaky reference to a poem by William Wordsworth, called "Intimations of Immortality." Look up this poem and determine what Wordsworth says about the various stages of life. How does this relate to Paul's story?

Paul lives in a fantasy world, not in the real world. His fantasy life leads to his death. The reference to sleep and forgetting suggests that he regards the real world as death, but in doing so he brings about his own demise. Unlike Wordsworth, Paul never appreciates his youth. He cannot enjoy the simple pleasures of life; instead he is always lusting after false things and money to enjoy himself.

Carnations (paragraphs 47, 64)

Carnations are the flowers of death....

Paul loves the sight of the carnations in a shop window, even in winter, when clearly they are a false, artificial extravagance. When later he buys some, they quickly wither in the cold. They are a metaphor for the life Paul desires and for Paul himself -- outside of the false lighting of a shop, once the flowers are taken out of their hothouse environment; they die instantly in the cold world of reality.
"Paul dropped back into the immense design of things" (paragraph 66) --What? Paul was a rebel. What would he think of being part of a design? Which design? Does this ending sentence say anything about Paul's escape from his Pittsburgh life?

Escape is impossible -- and escapism is no way to live, suggests Cather. We cannot be insensible to the needs of the real world. Paul thinks he can be like a dandy, and live like the people he sees on the stage. He also thinks he is superior to other people. However, like all of us, he will slip back into the great design of life. Death is the great leveler, and all of his ambitions come to naught. No one can rebel against death, or control their life by design if they are unwilling to work hard and submit to the demands of…